Ever Fallen In Love?
by peter-xoxox
Summary: Aless Carter is used to being independent. Her father is away fighting in the war, and her mother died giving birth to her. When her home town is bombed by the Germans, she and 4 other kids are shipped off to stay with a kind old Professor in his strangely magical house. Everything seems normal... until they discover the wardrobe. Warning - May contain cuss words


I stepped onto the train, clutching my tiny trunk in one hand and my shoulder bag in the other. Most people were hanging out of the window, waving to their mothers, but I simply made my way down the train to find a compartment. My mother had died giving birth to me and my father was fighting in the war, so I had no one to say goodbye to.

I opened a compartment door and stepped inside. I had barely sat down when four other kids walked in. There two boys and two girls. I guessed they were siblings, from the familiar way they behaved around each other. The eldest boy sat down on the seat next to me, whilst the other three sat down opposite. The youngest girl gave me a tentative smile, which I immediately returned.

"Hi, I'm Aless. What's your name?" I asked her.

She grinned before replying, "Lucy Pevensie."

"Pleasure to meet you, Lucy" I said, honestly.

I noticed she was sitting incredibly close to her sister, so I assumed she was shy. I was wrong. Once she got going, Lucy could talk for hours. I soon learnt that her sister was called Susan, and her brothers were Peter and Edmund. Peter was the eldest, and the most protective. When he heard this, Peter gave a small chuckle, before going back to reading his book.

I hesitantly turned the cover of the book to read the title. "A Tale of Two Cities?" I asked, surprised. "You read Dickens?"

"Uh, yeah" Peter said. "I really like his works."

I grinned at him. "Me too! He's such a good author."

Peter looked slightly relieved when he realised I wasn't about to tease him.

We ended up talking non-stop for an hour. I was pleasantly surprised at how easy it was to talk to him. Susan and Lucy joined in the conversation as well, but Edmund stared out the window the whole time, the frown evident on his face.

"So, where are you going, Aless?" Susan asked, gesturing to the label tied to my jacket.

"Coombe Halt" I read, glancing down at it.

"Us too!" Peter exclaimed, checking his own label.

"We may end up neighbours!" Lucy cried, looking very excited.

"But you heard Mother. The Professor's house it quite remote" Susan sighed, looking disappointed.

I gasped. "I'm staying with the Professor too!"

Lucy clapped her hands in excitement. "That's even better than neighbours!" she said.

I looked over at Edmund, who was still sulking. "Something wrong, Ed?" I asked cautiously.

He merely grunted and rolled his eyes. I scowled slightly; people like him annoyed me greatly.

* * *

"Aless, wake up" I heard Peter say, then realised he was shaking me.

I opened my eyes, and saw the others getting to their feet. The train had stopped, and I could hear the conductor yelling "Coombe Halt!" I blearily got to my feet and reached up the luggage rack to fetch my trunk. Peter bet me to it, and lowered it to the ground for me. I couldn't help the smile that crept onto my face; he really was quite attractive.

We made our way to the platform, faintly aware we were the only ones disembarking the train. We were also aware that no one was waiting for us on the platform. We stood there, unsure of what to do, as the train pulled away and left us. I was just beginning to worry, when the sound of an approaching car reached my ears.

The five of us grabbed our trunks and hurried to the dirt road that rang alongside the platform. We got to the bottom of the steps just as the car reached the platform, but it didn't stop. It carried on its way, the driver completely ignoring us.

"The professor knew we were coming" Susan stated, almost as if to reassure herself.

"Perhaps we've been incorrectly labelled?" Edmund suggested, studying the label on his jacket.

"Can you hear that?" I asked suddenly, as I could hear an odd noise.

"It sounds like… hooves" Lucy said. She was right.

Around the corner came a beautiful horse pulling a cart. At the very front of the cart sat a stern looking woman holding the reins. She drew to horse to a stop just in front of us. We stood there awkwardly, unsure of what to say. It was finally Peter who made the first move.

"Mrs Macready?" he asked hesitantly.

The lady nodded slightly, replying "I'm afraid so." Her gaze honed in on our minimal luggage. "Is this it then? Haven't you brought anything else?"

"No, ma'am. It's just us" I answered.

"Small favours" she murmured, before indicating for us to climb on the cart.

It was an uncomfortable fit, with really only room for three people. I ended up cautiously perched on the very side. I was desperately clinging to Susan's arm so as to not fall out completely. Lucy, in my opinion, got the good seat. She was practically sitting in Peter's lap, and admittedly I would trade places with her in a heartbeat. Of course, it wasn't exactly the same for her, as Peter was her brother, not a cute boy she was reasonably interested in.

'_Snap out of it, Aless!_' I thought furiously. '_You're friends, that's it._'

But try as I might, Peter was awfully good-looking and kind, and I couldn't help but stare at him. God, help me.

* * *

As Mrs Macready led us on a tour of the house, she informed us of the rules we were expected to follow.

"There will no shouting, running or improper use of the dumbwaiter. No touching of the historical artefacts!" That last one was directed at Susan, who had been reaching out to touch a very large, ugly statue.

She withdrew her hand like she'd been bitten, and threw a nasty glare at Mrs Macready.

I exchanged a quick glance with Ed, and saw that he too was trying to hide his laughter. It was the first time he'd actually smiled at me, and I hoped it wouldn't be the last. He had a nice smile.

Mrs Macready went through more of her tiresome rules, before finally showing us to our bedrooms.

Susan and Lucy had been given the first bedroom, which was the largest and looked the most welcoming. Peter and Edmund's was the one opposite it. Theirs was _slightly_ smaller and was a little drabber than the girls.

Mine was further down the hall, right next to the boy's room. It was very small and incredibly gloomy. I felt a pang of disappointment, but immediately brushed it aside. I had to be thankful for it, because I could have ended up somewhere a lot worse. I was lucky that I was staying in such a huge house and had great friends to hang out with.

Dinner that night was delicious. The Professor hadn't joined us, which meant it was just the five of us dining together. Despite Mrs Macready's attitude flaws, she made a wonderful meatloaf. My meals at home usually bordered horrific and inedible, due to the fact neither my father nor I could cook very well.

It was a great feeling to sit in a beautiful home, eating the best meatloaf I'd ever tasted, and conversing with people who I was beginning to care for more and more every minute I spent with them.

"So, Aless. Exactly how old are you?" Susan asked, looking genuinely interested.

"I'm turning 16 in two days" I answered. I repeated her question but aimed it at all the Pevensies. It turned out that Peter was already 16, Susan was 15, Edmund had just turned 13 and Lucy was 10.

Susan brought the conversation back to my birthday. "We have to celebrate it" she decided. The look on her face more or less said '_That's final.'_

I sighed inwardly. I hated it when people made a big fuss over my birthday. I much rather everyone just completely forget about it.

"Oh, yes" Lucy agreed. "We could ask Mrs Macready to cook a special dinner" she suggested.

I hastily shook my head. "No, no, no. No special dinner, no big fuss" I stammered. "I hate celebrating my birthday" I explained, when the 4 Pevensies gave me an odd look.

"Why?" Edmund asked.

I cringed. "Uh, my mother died giving birth to me. My birthday marks the day she died, so I never celebrate it" I told them.

The mood at the table plummeted. There was total silence until Lucy spoke up.

"I'm so sorry, Aless" she mumbled.

"Don't worry about it" I replied, grinning to let her know I was upset. It was only a little bit faked.

* * *

That night I lay in bed, staring at the ceiling. If I listened hard enough, I could hear Edmund and Peter talking next door. One of them must have annoyed the other, because suddenly they were yelling.

"You're so selfish and immature! Grow up, Ed!" Peter shouted. He sounded furious.

I was curious as to what Edmund had done to anger him, but I knew better than to pry into their business. Instead I tried to block out their voices. Before long I heard a door slam, then heavy footsteps passed my door. It was impossible to tell if it was Ed or Peter.

I curled up into a ball and eventually fell asleep.


End file.
